1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fabrication of nanostructured matrices for use in supporting lipid bilayers for the separation and analysis of membrane-associated molecules.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The demand for precise separation of molecules using small sample volumes is increasing. Currently, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) remains the standard for protein separation and identification in biotechnology. However, the set of separation strategies that rely on this technique are hampered by: (1) inconvenience of preparation of the variety of gels needed for the separations, (2) inherent inconsistencies in production conditions; and therefore, irreproducibility between different batches of gels, (3) susceptibility of the polymer to degradation under high electric fields, (4) lack of reusability, (5) difficulty in incorporation of these techniques into strategies for development of multi-dimensional (multi-technique) integrated separation systems, and (6) limited resolution and dynamic range of biomolecular separations.
Gradient PAGE techniques utilize one-dimensional filtration by manipulating pore-size though control of crosslinker, monomer, and solvent concentrations. Such separation matrices are recognized as having the potential to maintain excellent resolution and dynamic range. However, their utility is greatly hampered by the need for cumbersome gel preparation protocols and lack of reproducibility.
In general, the separation of molecules across matrices or membranes has been known in the art. Such separations are typically achieved by employing barriers that allow cut-offs at a precise molecular weight or by size-exclusion. The art describes structures where molecular transport and filtration take place perpendicular to the surface of the separating material. These currently available systems, however, suffer from a number of drawbacks: (1) the matrices formed are generally composed of non-uniform structures, (2) even where a gradation in size of structures is required, they may be random or at best have to be serially and sequentially arrayed through a cumbersome process of lithography, (3) fabrications of separation devices pose problems in terms of batch-to-batch variations; and consequently, poor reproducibility of results therefrom, (4) lack of efficiency of separation, (5) loss of sample volume, and (6) biomolecules may not be amenable to separation by many of the available systems.
Thus far, the most relevant work has been the development of “Brownian ratchets” in which assymetric diffusion leads to separation of molecules based on their size (van Oudenaarden et al., Science, 285: 1046-1052, 1999, the entire contents and disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). Subsequently, Chou et al. (see, Chou et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 96, 13762-13765, 1999, the entire contents and disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) attempted separation of DNA molecules using Microsystems formed by conventional photolithography. Although such prior work demonstrated that relatively simple 3-dimensional architectures could lead to effective separation, the developments have not gained ground with the biotechnological community. The primary reasons for this lack of acceptance being the difficulty of preparation of the nanofluidic systems and the associated high-cost of fabrication.
Similarly, “artificial gels” incorporating regular arrays of nanoscale pillars created through electron beam and/or imprint lithography have been described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,339 to Yager, et al. and by Turner, et al. (J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B., 16 3835-3840, 1998, the entire contents and disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). Such nanolithographically-defined structures utilize regular arrays of uniform-sized nanostructures throughout the separation matrix. Although these nanolithographic structures are useful in separation, the systems suffer from drawbacks: (1) resolution limitations, (2) flexibility limitations, and (3) difficulty in integrating the system with other, more complex, separation devices. Thus, the need for an efficient, highly-resolving, flexible, cost-efficient, and reproducible molecular-separation matrix, is largely unmet. The analysis and characterization of biomolecules is further limited by the difficulty in separating membrane-associated molecules. Typically, detergents are used to remove transmembrane molecules, but even mild detergents may denature such molecules, rendering them inactive and/or disrupting necessary functional interactions with other membrane components including other proteins or lipid components. Additionally, the study of biomolecules is limited by the difficulty in fabricating a cellular environment that allows for the interaction of molecules. Such interactions may be useful in studying molecular transport and communication across cell membranes.
Thus far, the most relevant work in this area is the use of synthetic lipid bilayer membranes as separation platforms for biomolecules. Because of their planar structure, such membranes are more amenable to laboratory use. The separation technology is achieved by integrating planar lipid bilayers with varied surfaces to allow for separation of molecules. For instance, synthetic membranes supported on a glass or silica surface allow for the electrophoretic separation of labeled phospholipids and membrane proteins. See, Groves, J. T. and Boxer, S. G., Electric-field-induced concentration gradients in planar supported bilayers, Biophysical Journal, 69: 1972-1975 (1995), and Groves, J. T., Wulfing, C., and Boxer, S. G., Electrical manipulation of glycan phosphatidyl inositol tethered proteins in planar supported bilayers, Biophysical Journal, 71: 2716-2723 (1996), the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Additionally, lipid bilayer membranes have been incorporated into microstructured devices by lithographically-derived features to partition the supported membrane into separate regions to pattern the distribution of the lipid bilayer over the surface or as a coating for microchannels. See, Cremer, P. S., and Yang, T., Creating spatially addressed arrays of planar supported fluid phospholipid membranes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 121: 8130-8131; Nissen, J., Jacobs, K., and Radler, J. O., Interface dynamics of lipid membrane spreading on solid surfaces, Physical Review Letters, 86: 1904-1907 (2001); and Yang, T. L., Jung, S. Y., Mao, H. B., and Cremer, P. S., Fabrication of phospholipid bilayer-coated microchannels for on-chip immunoassays, Analytical Chemistry, 73: 165-169 (2001), the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Furthermore, lipid bilayers have been supported on nanostructured arrays to produce Brownian ratchets utilized in the electrophoresis of fluorescent phospholipids. See, van Oudenaarden, A., and Boxer, S. G., Brownian ratchets: Molecular separations in lipid bilayers supported on patterned arrays, Science, 285: 1046-1048 (1999), the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Finally, hybrid lipid bilayers, in which one leaflet (define leaflet) of the supported membrane is formed by an alkane-thiol monolayer on gold, have shown promise for use in bioseparations. See, Plant, A., Supported hybrid bilayer membranes as rugged cell membrane mimics, Langmuir, 15: 5128-5135 (1999), and Hui, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,576, the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. However, in these techniques, the close proximity or constraint of the lower leaflet to the supporting surface reduces their usefulness in analyzing transmembrane proteins or interactions between cytoplasmic and extracellular components of the membrane.
Also relevant to the technology of the present invention are previous methods for creating suspended lipid bilayers in which regions of the lipid bilayers are freely suspended between two aqueous reservoirs. Such hybrid bilayers are formed so one leaflet of the suspended region of the bilayer is replaced with a methyl terminated self-assembled monolayer, allowing for suspension of free bilayers over gaps as large as 100 μm. See, Ogier, S. D., Bushby, R. J., Cheng, Y., Evans, S. D., Evand, S. W., Jenkins, T. A., Knowles, P. F., and Miles, R. E., Langmuir, 16: 5696-5701 (2000), the entire contents and disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Although these types of suspended bilayers have been used for studying membrane permeability and transmembrane protein function, the use of such suspended lipid bilayers in the separation of transmembrane proteins has not been examined. Thus, the need for technology that utilizes supported and suspended lipid bilayer membranes that allow for (1) separation of membrane-spanning complexes, and (2) cellular interaction is largely unmet.